The Cat's Cradle Bar
by Rathlyn
Summary: James had a good life. His final grades were good, he didn't have any problems at home, and he was about to see his friend for the first time since the end of school. But when he does, he finds that his best bro's world has changed, and soon, so will his.
1. First Day

'First day of sophomore year, brilliant.' James thought, sighing as he walked through the doors into the hallway of the massive high school. 'Summer vacation went far too fast. At least I can meet the new freshmen' He looked around, spotting some of his friends in the sea of faces, but the irresistible force of the students surrounding him prevented him from moving backwards to meet them. He resigned himself to the flow and began moving towards the cafeteria to start his day with a nap before homeroom before being jolted out of his stupor by a hand placed on his shoulder and a loud greeting.

"Hey, JR!" Kenny laughed as he pulled level with his friend. "How've ya been? Damn, it seems like forever since the last day of freshman year!" He laughed again and pulled his bro to the side before placing him in a headlock and leading him through the other student's towards the cafeteria.

"Gurk…" James choked out, struggling against Kenny's arm, wrapped around his neck. "I'm doing fine, let me go!" Kenny laughed and released him. James stood up and got a look at his "brother". Kenny had gotten a healthy tan over the summer, as well as growing another few inches, probably passing six feet. His hair was a lighter brown than the last time they met, most likely from the time in the sun that gave him his tan. Kenny turned around and began walking to the cafeteria, beckoning for his brother to follow.

"C'mon, I have something to show you!" James followed obediently, taking out a Rubix Cube and fiddling with it while he walked. "Well, more of a someONE…well 2 someone's actually, but you get the point! They're coming here…" James tuned out his friend's excited rambling and focused on the cube, manipulating the sides to mix up and solve the cube again and again. Unfortunately, his distraction with the puzzle lead to some painful consequences.

Namely running into the cafeteria door.

James rubbed his head, grumbling in pain while Kenny laughed again. 'Why the heck is he in such a cheery mood?' James thought. 'It's the first day of school, he's usually a zombie every other time. I bet he met someone special over the summer. But it was 2 people…' James' thoughts trailed off as he took a seat beside Kenny.

2 freshmen detached from the main group hovering around one of the larger tables and joined them. One was a shy girl, who seemed more interested in the column next to them than the group, and the other was a confident guy who smiled as he sat.

"Hello! The name's Shinora, pleased to meet you!" the guy said, extending his hand towards James.

"Hey, I'm JR." James said, taking the boy's hand and giving it a shake. "Who's the girl?"

"That girl has a name, you know." She muttered, her voice sounding hollow and far away. Kenny chuckled at the response and took the introductions into his own hands.

"Her name is Sirren, and this is JR." he said, motioning for them to shake hands. The girl tentatively stretched out her hand and James took it, giving it a shake much like the one he had given Shinora. She quickly removed her hand, placing it back on her lap and staring at the floor again until Kenny gave her a pat on the shoulder and her head lifted slightly.

"Now that introductions are over, how is everybody doing today?"

The rest of the conversation went much like that, with meaningless chatter exchanged between the four, and all the while James was wondering why Kenny had introduced him to these freshman, and where his bro knew them from.

After homeroom, the group didn't get back together again until the end of the day and Kenny was chattering excitedly about a new place he found over the summer. "It's called the Cat's Cradle Bar," he said. "It's a very fun place, but don't let the name fool you. Unless you actually buy alcohol they don't check for ID. In fact, I met quite a few underage patrons there over the summer." James wondered if that was where Kenny had met the freshmen who had joined them for the walk home.

Kenny took a sharp turn down an unfamiliar street, and James followed. "Where are you going? You live back there." James said quickly, pointing back to the intersection.

"Yeah but I really want to show you the place I was talking about! Trust me, it's really cool! Shin and Sirren will vouch!"

The freshmen nodded their agreement and James gave a sigh. "Fine, but be quick. We have homework to finish."

Kenny practically sprinted down the street after that. A few turns later, the group came face to face with a non-descript one story building, an open sign posted on the front door. The Cat's Cradle was plastered in large letters on a sign above the door.

"Here we are!" Kenny said, opening the door. He held out a hand to stop JR from entering as the freshmen crossed the threshold. In the dark of the room beyond, the younger kids disappeared from sight almost immediately.

"Are you sure it's open, Kenny? I mean, all the lights are off…" James said, poking his head into the entry way.

Kenny laughed and walked in ahead of James, saying "Of course it's open! That's what the sign says!" The darkness swallowed him up as well, leaving James alone and standing in the doorway.

He gulped and muttered, "Here goes nothing…" before crossing the barrier between the outside world and the interior of the bar.


	2. The Bar

**A/N: Alright this is going to be in the first chapter as well when I get to it, which might be by the time you read this.**

**Alright, 2/4 of the characters in the main group are not mine. I have asked the respective owners if I could use Sirren and Shin, and they said yes. If you own these characters and you are reading this, thank you! If not, well, don't yell at me if you know them.**

**Some of the others are also owned by other people, however they will most likely only be mentioned by name and not actually be around.**

**If I need them I will ask, and I will disclaim.**

**Kenny and JR/James are mine, however.**

_**MINE**_

As James entered the darkness of the bar, the lights suddenly flashed on, revealing the interior of the building. He blinked a few times and glanced around the room. The bar was nothing special, with the main bar along one wall covered in various drinks and ingredients for the mixing of drinks. The bar stools were neatly arranged around the bar, with a few patrons discussing something over glasses of an unidentifiable liquid, most likely some form of alcohol seeing as it _was_ a bar. In the corner next to the bar were 3 doors, leading to places unknown until he noticed the signs above the doors, denoting them as the break room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. A set of 3 couches was scattered in the center of the room, which seemed too large for the space allotted to it from the outside, as well as an armchair. One of the couches and the armchair were occupied by sleeping patrons, covered in blankets.

All of this went to black as a strange woman with a katana sliced open his neck.

He was floating in a void of darkness, his neck strangely numb. He could feel nothing but his own body, and even that was fading. It was a slow, creeping, feeling, starting at his toes and crawling up his legs, everything ahead of it tensed in fear, everything behind it lax in numbness. He tried to open his mouth to scream, yet no sound came out. He didn't know how long he floated in that place, waiting for the numbness to claim him, but he began hearing voices. A light shone bright and the distance and began growing, getting stronger and closer until…

"Dude! Wake up!"

James woke with a start, blinking at the sudden light. A few faces hung over him, many of them disappearing as they realized that James was awake. Only two stayed behind, helping him to sit up. James looked around the bar, which was operating as if nothing ever happened. Even the bloodstain that James was sure would have been on the ground in front of the door was gone, as it had never been. He looked for his friends, his vision still hazy as he tried to focus on specific people. He eventually turned towards the ones next to him, squinting to get a better look.

What he saw would change him for the rest of his life.

They looked human. If humans had candy-corn colored horns and gray skin. The first one, a male, was tall and had a set of horns that looked like you could pull some string between them and play it as if it was a lyre. He has a goofy smile on his face, and his blue-on-gold eyes were bright as he gave a small chuckle, as if someone looking at him strange was a commonplace occurrence, which it probably was considering his, y'know, HORNS. His hair was black, with a curious silver streak on the right side. His shirt was odd as well, portraying nothing but a strange blue symbol on a black background.

The girl next to him clung to the taller man's arm, trying not to look at James. Her hair tumbled past her shoulders in a wavy line, and she had two sets of horns, poking out of the side of her head like L's turned on their side. Her hair was black as well, save a blotch of orchid on the top of her head. Her eyes were blue and gold as well, but more of a sky blue to the guy's deep shade of cerulean. Her shirt, like his, was merely a symbol on a black background, but hers was recognizable as an X.

James blinked a few more times to make sure that the strange humanoids standing in front of him were real, and not just a dream. "W-who are you?" James coughed his voice dry and cracked. The man chuckled again while the girl merely clung tighter to his arm, still wary of James.

"Alright, I'll give you three guesses," the man said, his voice strangely familiar. "The first 2 don't count."

James thought for a second before blurting out: "A hallucination?"

"Nope."

"A dream?"

"Also no."

"A figment of my imagination?"

"I can assure you we are perfectly real. That leaves 2 guesses."

"Uh…are you people who are initiating me into some kind of anime club?"

"One more guess, bro."

Something clicked in James' head. "You're not…Kenny, are you?"

The man laughed for real this time, and patted James on the shoulder. "Took you long enough bro! I was worried I'd might have to give you more hints. Although here, I go by the name Weaver, thank you." He stopped laughing, but the goofy smile was still plastered onto his face as he pulled his brother up from the couch and hugged him before returning to the shy girl.

"You've met this lovely lady before I believe, but proper introductions are a must! JR, this is Sirren, she is my matesprit." James looked at him in confusion for a moment, waiting for an explanation. "Right, right. Different cultures I keep forgetting. Uh…matesprits are like, well, human couples. Boyfriend and girlfriend if you wish." James nodded, still slightly shocked at the revelation before realizing that a much more pressing matter was at hand then introductions.

"I'm supposed to be dead!" James shouted, clutching his neck, which had mysteriously healed over while he was asleep.

"You can thank Shin for that." Ken-er, Weaver said, pointing to the man attending the bar. James squinted again, making out fox ears sprouting from the top of the bartender's hair. "He healed you after Flush said hello."

"Hello?" James muttered, still rubbing his neck. "They freaking stabbed me! In the neck!"

"Yes, that is how she says hello. Now get up, you're fine." Kenny said, reaching out his hand to James. James took it and stood up, squeezing his eyes shut as the sense of nausea accompanying getting up too fast subsided. He followed his brother to the bar, where Kenny ordered two "extremely fruity drinks" and Sirren merely sat on a stool, leaning on Kenny.

Kenny grabbed one of the drinks as it came around, and passed to other to James. "Drink it, it's delicious. And before you say that we're underage, it's nonalcoholic."

James eyed to colorful drink suspiciously before taking a sip. Extremely fruity was right! It was like a tropical party in his mouth! James took another sip before putting the glass down and swiveling towards Weaver, his head full of questions about the bar, Sirren, and most importantly, Weaver himself.

**A/N: Yep. Another shortish one. Hey, I could have ended it at being STABBED but then it wouldn't be much of a chapter would it? You'll have to be content with imagining what James will ask next time.**

**My story, my rules.**

**I ain't Andrew Hussie.**

**Deal with it.**


	3. Questions

**A/N: I warned you about the exposition bro**

**_I warned you_  
**

**Next chapter begins the Adventure portion of our program, just sit tight.**

"Okay, so, what the heck _are_ you?" James asked, taking a large gulp of the drink that had been placed before him.

"Long answer or short?"

"What?... Oh… whichever is easier to understand."

"The short answer is that I am a member of an alien race called the trolls."

"…Okay. Long answer then."

"We trolls are technically from another universe than humans are. As you can see, we look like you but with some major differences, mainly the horns and the gray skin. We are generally a very violent race, but there are exceptions, nor do we kill without reason. One such reason would be if someone pissed us off, they probably wouldn't survive the night."

"Alright, how long have you been like this?"

"Dude, I was BORN this way."

"…Whatever. Is it possible to actually become one of you?"

"No."

"Just no? No like, freaky machines or genetic mutations?"

"No."

"So why weren't you like this when we first met?"

"Magic and illusions."

"Alright then. Next question, _where am I?_"

"The Cat's Cradle bar, I explained that."

"Where is the bar?"

"Good question. Next."

"Huh?"

"We don't know."

"Ah. Who's Flush?"

"Another good question. The most I can say is that she's kind of insane, and will occasionally try to kill everyone."

"Oh. Uh…okay? I guess? Uhm, so why is Sirren so shy?"

"She's a shy troll. Deal with it. She literally _just met you_ today."

"Well, just to let you know, I am your friend."

Sirren shrugged and wrapped her arms around Weaver's shoulders, clinging tight. Weaver smiled and ruffled her hair, making her blush slightly and turn away from James.

"Alright, we're almost done. Can you tell me what this drink actually is? What's in it?"

"…The technical name varies depending on the day, but Shin calls it the Fruitinator. It is made of fruit. That's all I know."

"…What"

"Yep. Done yet?"

"For now." James stared into the brightly colored drink in front of him suddenly cautious of the fruity concoction. He stayed like that for a few minutes, during which Weaver and Sirren moved to the couch for quote "cuddling". He eventually stood up and passed Shin his empty glass. The fox-guy nodded and went back to his discussion with a few of the other patrons, most of which were human but he could make out another troll or two in the small crowd gathered around the bartender.

He moved to the couch and sat next to Weaver and Sirren, one final question on his lips.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said, staring straight at Weaver, forcing the troll to make eye contact.

"Because if the wrong people found out I'd be taken and experimented on."

"BS, tell me the real reason."

"…I was alone damnit. I thought I was the last of a dead species. Who wouldn't hide themselves behind a mask to fit in? I was a seadweller among lowbloods, except treated with scorn and hatred instead of respect and fear. Or, as humans would say, a fish out of water. I was afraid, James."

"Then why tell me now?"

"Because I found this," Weaver pauses a moment to gesture at the various trolls around the bar, intermingled with patrons of other species. "I wasn't alone. I met Sirren and Shin and I resolved to tell you as soon as I saw you again. Unfortunately I could never get a hold of you, and I was forced to wait until now."

James stared, his mouth hanging slightly open, shocked at the new information. "So…you were _scared_ of me?"

"No, JR. I was scared of myself and the human race. I was an enigma, nobody knew what to do with me. At my old school, I accidentally revealed myself, but only to students. They were scared, but not scared enough to prevent the torture that cam afterwards. When I left, I resolved never to tell anyone about me."

James sighed and wrapped an arm around his bro's shoulders, careful to include Sirren in the side-hug. "Dude, you can trust me with anything."

"Well duh, that's why I'm telling you now." Weaver's straight face cracked into a small smile. "Alright bro, it's late. Well, not to the outside world, time just works in strange ways here." He stood up and stretched, giving Sirren a final kiss on the head before leading James back to the door. "G'night y'all!" he shouted, waving at the patrons. Most of them ignored him but a few waved back.

When something puzzled him, or something made him think, James stayed awake until he figured that something out.

He got very little sleep that night.


End file.
